Each time that I've ventured across the Atlantic for a good nose around New York Fashion Week, I've encountered the friendly face of Alex Frank amongst the sea of the unfamiliar. Style Editor at The Fader, Frank is one of the most interested and supportive out of town journalist to London menswear, so it should come as little surprise that we get on. Currently in my capital researching a feature on the latest crop of design talent, I couldn't resist organising a spot of show and tell to uncover his most cherished items...
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Alex Frank and the Pop Souk find
"I picked up this cap at an amazing pop up market called Pop Souk. Now taking over The Standard, it has become a yearly showcase for emerging designers in New York. It is a club kids dream with DJ Sets, Go-go dancers, drag queens and so much else. Basically it's New Yorkers hanging out in their own personal pop up shops and hocking treasures from their own closets or selling their original designs and wares. It was here and amidst the madness and cocktails that I first encountered Gypsy Sport, a recently launched street wear brand from Harlem. They do bill-less baseball caps and amazingly fitted updates on the traditional Muslim Taqiyah hat but I snapped this one up. I've been looking for the perfect plaid hat for ages and this it. Also, at $25 it is an absolute bargain."
"This jacket is by an amazing but quite under rated label called Number:Lab. For me, it was one of the first labels in New York at least, that really understood the tech world. Luis Fernandez, the designer behind it, is a total geek for innovative fabrics and futuristic technologies. He just does the best dressed-up gym clothes. A part of me has always wanted something made from neoprene because I love it as a fabric but I tend to find that most designers don't use it quite right. Luis understands what neoprene should look like. It doesn't feel clingy and it is lined really well so that it actually feels likes a hoodie. I just think it is super cool and everything just works. I've only had it for a short while and worn it a few times but I plan on wearing it a crap load." Alex Frank.
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... and the first item in Neoprene
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